Press Releases, 14/06/2012 | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Heidi Schroderus-Fox appointed director at UN-OHRLLS

Press release 146/2012
14 June 2012

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ambassador Heidi Schroderus-Fox, a Finn, as director of the office of UN-OHRLLS, the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. This is currently Finland’s highest post at the UN headquarters in New York.

About 90 countries fall within the scope of activities of this particular Office. The task of the Office is to coordinate all UN activities pertaining to the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries or small island developing states classified as developing countries. The Office provides support to these countries and assists the Secretary-General in ensuring that in its actions, the United Nations system takes account of the specific problems facing these countries in the best possible way and seeks solutions to these problems. Key issues include, among others, poverty reduction, development of the production capacity and trade, and sustainable development.

Ambassador Heidi Schroderus-Fox has been employed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 1988. She has served in Finland’s diplomatic missions in Paris, Washington, Tel Aviv, Pretoria and New York. In 2010–2011 she was an Ambassador serving in the Cabinet of the President of the 65th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she was Head of Policy Issues. At present, Ambassador Schroderus-Fox is acting as the deputy for Under-Secretary of State Jaakko Laajava, handling negotiation tasks concerning the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.